quote:Our Space & Hollywood Collectibles Auction contains almost 500 lots, including extensive and valuable collections of autographed covers related to experimental aviation flights, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle programs, and the Soviet/Russian programs. Single better items include a sheet of the United States 4 cent Mercury stamp signed by all of the original 7 Mercury astronauts; signed photos including Gus Grissom & John Young on a Gemini 3 recovery photo; Ed White Gemini 4 photo; Apollo 11 crew signed covers; Neil Armstrong signed litho; Apollo 15 'Phases of the Moon' cover that flew to the Moon and back with documentation signed by mission astronauts; Apollo 17 flown checklist pages; many flown flags; complete crew signed photo of the Shuttle Columbia crew who were so tragically killed; Lindbergh and Earhart signed items; Gagarin signed document and letter; Wernher Von Braun's weekly notes for 1962 & 1966; and an original oil painting by famed cosmonaut artist Andrei Sokalov.

[Edited by collectSPACE Admin (October 15, 2006).]

Bob M

With an hour to kill, I quickly went through much of R-Superior's on-line catalog and noticed some "irregularities."

Lot 2403: GT-12 has a very odd and unusual Aldrin signature

Lot 2540: all four ALT signatures are autopens

Lot 2535: ASTP with several autopens

Lots 2661 and 2662 are two Soyuz 11 crew signed items. We've come to expect to see one or two Soyuz 11's in just about every big auction even though they never come with any provenance and are considered questionable or bogus by most every knowledgeable person in our hobby. But no matter, they continue to be a money-making source for many.

But of special note to those who require certain authentic autographs in their collections is a wonderful cover signed with vintage autographs by the Original 7 Mercury Astronauts, lot 2365.

Bob McLeod

mjanovec

Are the sigs bad in lots 2388 and 2399?

machbusterman

quote:Originally posted by Bob M:Lot 2540: all four ALT signatures are autopens

My catalogue arrived yesterday and for the life of me I have no idea how the ALT crews litho got through... all signatures are blatantly obvious as autopens as Bob said!

Some interesting lots in the high altitude program section too!

Regards to all,

Derek

Scott

quote:Originally posted by mjanovec:Are the sigs bad in lots 2388 and 2399?

I'll let others weigh in on Lot 2388 but on Lot 2399 I have no doubt at all that the Collins is classic German Collins forgery. It is a textbook example - one of the most distinctive and tell-ridden I've ever seen.

Ken Havekotte

I'll certainly support what Bob and Scott said above. But for the ASTP joint-crew signed pic, if you look closely, all 5 signatures are autopen. NASA did in fact supply APs from the Leonov and Kubasov team on this same portrait type (Lot #2535). The GT-3 splashdown-recovery glossy signed by Grissom and Young, based on my opinion, I'm just not crazy about the piece-- especially Grissom's autograph on it. The GT-10 signed crew PRS-cover (Lot #2399), as Scott pointed out, doesn't turn me on mainly because of the "later-version" signature of Collins. I don't like the Collins and believe it to be a possible forgery. The White signed portrait litho (#2391) is most interesting, however, I do have some concerns over it, and for me, I would pass on it. Lot #2397 (the See lihto), unfortunately, I can't see too well with my aging eyesight. I am also not crazy about most of the Anders' signed pieces in this auction...and...look again at #2433; the Aldrin signed Apollo 11 LM-liftoff from moon cover. I just don't care for this signature, especially the "Buzz" pattern. It may still be genuine, but I would pass on it. I do see some good Apollo 11 crew-signed pieces along with the Armstrongs on Lots 2426 and 2427. And yes, there are two good and "classic" Mercury 7 team autographed lots being offered with the signed Mercury stamp sheet and the MA-7 flight cover. That's all I had time to review at the moment. What do others think?

SRB

Anyone have any idea who made the series of gold M-G-A medallions in this Regency sale (e.g., lots 2373, 2376, 2392 , etc.)? Thanks,

Steve

Bob M

As is usual and expected from all the big space auctions, Regency-Superior has presented us bidders with a lot of exceptional and spectacular items, along with a dose of autopens and a moderate selection of suspect material.

Among their spectacular material are two Apollo 11 Insurance covers (lots 2422 and 2423). But surprisingly they fail to identify them as Insurance covers and also they give them a very low estimated value of only $1,000, whereas these covers usually sell for $3,000 or more.

Among the several items needing further review is lot 2648, an X-15 cover said to be signed by John B. McKay. The McKay signature is somewhat in the style of a genuine McKay, but is applied too carefully and almost has the appearance of a rubber stamp.

Lot 2388, the Grissom/Young GT-3 combo, has the potential to sell for big bucks, but a bidder would be wise to see a better and bigger scan of the signatures and have them checked out by someone familiar with Grissom autographs especially.

R-Superior calls one of their Soyuz 11's "rare," although they have been offered and sold on a regular basis by numerous sellers for many years and usually one or more can be found on eBay at any time and many were sold by the "old" Superior. Perhaps it's time to drop "rare" from any description of Soyuz 11 crew signed material, as it's long been readily available and affordable.

Bob Mc.

taneal1

Anyone care to comment on item #2653? It's a document signed by the first 5 Vostok crewmembers.

Also, I'm surprised there have been no comments on #2404 Grissom, and #2425, the TV transmission of Armstrong(?) on the lunar surface...

Thanks for any thoughts!

Tom

Ken Havekotte

Bob--Finally had sometime after launch week to look at Lot #2648, the McKay signed BS-cachet X-15 flight cover. The McKays in my collection are a bit different in signature style than this one. If it was me, my opinion only, I would say the auction signed cover is a duplicated or fake signature attempt. Most of my KcKay signatures, along with other signed X-15 flight covers by Armstrong, Walker, Crossfield and others, came from long-time pioneer collectors like E. V. Smith, Gearhardt, and a few noted others. Unfortunately, besides those samples, I don't have too much more to go on for signature comparisons, in addition to a few signed glossies here and there. How about you?

Michael

That is a good question......how about item #2425....Neil on the moon on Television. That is very clever......any opinions on that item ????

Mike

zee_aladdin

Hello SRB:

Regarding the gold medallions of M-G-A, they are very interesting and I've never seen those kind of medallions in 10k gold. I do have some of exact ones but they are made from other base metals. I have to pull them out and find out who made them.

- Zee

SRB

Zee,

Thanks for looking into this. I hope you come up with some information about the maker.

Steve

gliderpilotuk

quote:Originally posted by taneal1:Anyone care to comment on item #2653? It's a document signed by the first 5 Vostok crewmembers.Also, I'm surprised there have been no comments on #2404 Grissom, and #2425, the TV transmission of Armstrong(?) on the lunar surface...Thanks for any thoughts!Tom

Tom, dunno about #2653, but I think it's been around before. #2404 I'll leave to someone else, but personally I don't like #2425. It has some strange traits but being uninscribed on this particular photo it is likely to be just too tempting for some.I suggest you "save a copy" of the scan of 2425 from the Regency website and enlarge it, then compare to the Armstrong study.

Paul

mjanovec

#2425 sold for only $675...which tells me a lot of the potential bidders out there also thought this one wasn't the real deal.

I thought the Mercury 7 signed cover (lot 2365) would sell for more than $2800. The stamp sheet (lot 2364) went for $1700.

mensclub10@aol.com

I won the Mercury 7 signed cover and I'm thrilled. A great piece to add to my collection. Only item I won but came close on 2 others. Now off to the Aurora auction and one particular item I'm after!

Dave

mjanovec

quote:Originally posted by mensclub10@aol.com:I won the Mercury 7 signed cover and I'm thrilled. A great piece to add to my collection. Only item I won but came close on 2 others. Now off to the Aurora auction and one particular item I'm after!

Congrats on that win! I expected it to go for little more, but am happy you got a good deal. There can't be many covers out there signed by all Mercury Seven astronauts.